Teaching your children kindness with James and The Amazing Gift

It’s World Kindness Day this weekend, and goodness only knows we could do with a lot more kindness in this world against the backdrop of the monumental events our lives are playing out against of late.

As we all know, kindness – and its sister empathy – starts with me, and you….and therefore also what we teach our children. However, truth be told that sometimes life gets in the way of our teachings, and so for when the inevitable happens, I am always a big advocate of using books to help teach these virtues.

Cue James and The Amazing Gift by Nicola J Rowley, an uplifting children’s picture book about a boy called James who loves to smile, and who also has an incredible ability to make everyone he meets smile too. But one day, whilst he’s at a garden centre with his mummy, he sees an elderly lady who does not want to smile. She is sitting in the corner with her purple hat pulled down over her face. She is all alone. James has to work really hard to get her attention. Will he be able to make the old lady feel as if she is no longer just by herself?

I love the message in this book about how a smile can go a long way and help to impact the lives of others. A warm smile is a universal act of kindness, and so easy to do, but the effects can be profound indeed. A large part of why this book is lovely is how relatable it is – concerning a parallel situation with an elderly lady that probably all our children will have been familiar with at some point, and it serves as the perfect discussion point of how we can be kind and considerate to others – particularly those who need it the most – in small ways and make the world of difference.

Moreover, it is the perfect antidote to the over-complicated world we live in – focusing on happiness, positivity and spreading joy.

But if you’d like to delve a little deeper into this book, why not join me in this World Kindness Day reading of it over on my You Tube channel:

In a week like this, James and The Amazing Gift has been an amazing breath of fresh air in our household, and the perfect teaching point in the run up to World Kindness Day making it a well considered gift now, or indeed at any time.

As well as aiming to teach children of the importance of helping others, the author also hopes to raise awareness of the loneliness of elderly people, especially around Christmas time. For every book sold, £1 of the proceeds will be donated to the UK charity Contact the Elderly, which tackles loneliness among older people.

***James and The Amazing Gift is available to purchase via Troubador and also at Waterstones, Foyles and Amazon.***

I did not even know there was such a thing as “World Kindness Day”. There should be 365 of them every year really! With an extra one on leap years! It looks like a great book.Rachel George recently posted…Safe Sip Drink Covers

I love that there is a world kindness day, how fantastic! We need such a thing after all the terrible things that have happened to the world recently. This sounds like a great story too!Elizabeth recently posted…Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon, Leeks and Peas

world kindness day.. i love it.. and the thought behind the book is so lovely.. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” -Mark Twainjolene recently posted…My Top ten tips from Bloggerconf 2016

We’re certainly in need of more kindness in the world. It’s one of the official ‘values’ taught by my daughters school and this book would be awesome for the younger classes. Thanks for highlighting it.Laura recently posted…Style: Girl’s outfits for A/W16